How It Works

We provide food to local charities throughout the county who distribute food to those in need. We work with hundreds of community partners throughout Orange County including:

Community Resource Centers

Mobile and Permanent School Pantries

Church Pantries

Senior Centers

Kids Cafes and Summer Meal Programs

Food Bank Basics

When you donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, you take a powerful stand in the fight against hunger. We serve charity organizations, who in turn, feed more than 250,000 hungry people in Orange County every month. Here is how it works:

Food & Funds

More than 90 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to hunger-relief programs. The majority of our food is donated through restaurants, grocery stores, food manufacturers, growers and packers, our Incredible Edible Farm, Feeding America, the USDA, and corporate and individual food drives.

Volunteers

Our volunteers sort donated food and check everything for quality and safety. They also help plant and harvest produce in the Incredible Edible Park. Children and their parents package food at Izzy’s Corner. We had more than 26,000 volunteers last year, and welcome individuals and groups.

The Food Distribution Center

After our food is checked for safety it is put into our inventory system and is available to our non-profit community partners. They can either come into our food distribution center or order food on-line. Organizations can either pick-up their products or have their order delivered directly to their location.

Partner Organizations & Programs

Through a network of more than 200 community partners distributing food in every city throughout the county, Second Harvest feeds more than 250,000 individuals each month. Our community partners are non-profit organizations such as shelters, churches, homes for battered and abused women and children and local pantries. As a vital link between the food industry and agencies that feed those at-risk of hunger, Second Harvest has distributed a total of more than 418 million pounds of food, or 354 million meals, to the hungry in Orange County.

People

It is currently estimated that 9.6% of Orange County residents, or more than 301,000 people, struggle with hunger in Orange County. Children and seniors make up 50% of those in need of food assistance. Families who once were able to contribute to their community are now finding themselves out of work and in need of a hand up to make ends meet. Others are making less than they used to and often have to choose between paying the rent and putting food on the table. Seniors and others on fixed incomes face tough choices too. All of these people can now turn to their local pantry for food assistance.